mikrokosmos

2: IS FROZEN 3 OUT YET?

"Lyra Jade!" She found her best friend running towards her in the hallway. Reverie looked a little worried when she finally held Jade's arm. "What's wrong?"

Disregarding her thoughts about her dream (she's still trying to think of what she'd call that... occurrence), she managed to smile at Rev. "Do you have any umbrella, Rev? I forgot mine." She pouted and did the puppy eyes.

"Of course, I brought one!" Rev quickly opened her bag to show her umbrella. Hopefully, it was big enough to cater the two of them. "Oh, Lyra Jade, what would you do without Reverie Anne Burroughs?" The bubbly girl shook her head, her long blonde locks following her move.

As the two of them got outside the academy, Jade's eyes caught someone casually walking across the road. She didn't notice that she was looking at him for a while until his eyes met hers.

He was wearing their own school uniform, with his bag slung on his shoulder. She's not really one to stare back at people, especially that long, but with him today, she found herself unable to tear her gaze off him.

"Jade, let's go home quickly before this rain gets stronger." Rev pulled Jade along with her to make her walk faster. "I know who you're staring at, by the way. Best not to involve yourself with that guy."

"Why?"

Reverie shrugged. "He just looks creepy to me."

"Do you even know him? Like, not just from his name and his group of friends?" Jade asked, curious as to why Reverie decided to change her perspective on the guy.

"Isn't he the one who has a crush on you since 10th grade?" Reverie scrunched her nose. "I don't think he's over that crush thing. He looks like he's stalking you, in my opinion."

She looked back just to check if he was still there, only to see him gone already. She sighed as she dismissed the topic of that particular guy and just opened up a new one to talk about with Rev.

"How's Grandma Remy?"

"She's good. She just needed to eat her favorite steak." Rev giggled.

Last night, when Jade went to their unit to study with Reverie about English – which is, in her own friend's words, the only major subject she's good at besides Physical Education (the girl has good reflexes and coordination despite her physique), Grandma Remy just started feeling weak. She told Rev to bring her to the nearest hospital, where her mom's working as a nurse, but her friend refused and just let her go home to take care of her grandmother alone. It was the first time she saw Rev looked scared.

Jade arrived home without anyone greeting her. It was already 4:20 in the afternoon, so the twins were already in the hospital waiting for their dad to finish his shift. It's always like that; Jade comes home alone or with Rev, wait for her father and the twins to arrive, then either she or her father will cook dinner or they'll come home with food.  Jade's mother, on the other hand, left them 6 years ago, a year after Lemuel and Landon were born.  She was a travel agent and she loves photography so she has to go travel somewhere from time to time. The only thing Jade couldn't understand was why her mother hasn't come home. 

"It's been 6 years, mom. When are you coming back to us?" Jade sighed as she stared at one framed family picture of them before her mother left. She could talk more about her mother but Jade digressed, dismissing the thought because she felt like she's just waiting for nothing.

Jade looked outside their window. It doesn't look like the rain will stop any minute now, and she fears her dad and the twins can't ride a taxi before dinner.

Dropping her bag on her bed, she changed her uniform into something more comfortable to wear – jogging pants and a black oversized sweater. She was about to do her homework when her phone started ringing. Reading her Dad's caller ID, she immediately answered the call. "Dad?"